My family LOVES this dish- Spicy Sausage & Arugula Pasta. It is my 'go-to' dinner on many nights. It also works great as a party food because it can be eaten warm or cold and the ingredients can be easily adjusted depending on how many people you will be having. In a lot of cases, I just add additional pasta. Don't worry if you make too much - it tastes GREAT in an omelet the next day for breakfast, too. Enjoy!

Spicy Sausage & Arugula Pasta

For the pasta:

1 box of fusilli pasta

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water from cooked pasta

For the sausage & arugula topping:

1 pound bulk hot sausage

4 cloves of minced garlic

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 large bunch fresh baby arugula

Cook fusilli according to box directions. While it is boiling, crumble sausage and brown it in a separate deep pan (I use a wok) on medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the browned sausage and let cook for one minute. Stir in tomatoes and let them cook down a bit (about 2 minutes). Fold in arugula, cover and turn off heat. The arugula will steam nicely with the heat that remains.

When pasta is done, drain it reserving a 1/3 cup of the water. Mix salt, pepper, parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Stir in water. Toss onto hot pasta coating it evenly.

For small parties, you can serve the pasta with the sausage mixture on top. For larger parties, I like to toss it altogether in a big bowl so people can serve themselves.

To make it Whole 30 approved, all you need to do is serve the sausage mixture atop some roasted spaghetti squash or raw zucchini noodles (zoodles) omitting the parmesan cheese. I like using raw zoodles because they keep their shape and will warm up under the mixture anyway.

My family LOVES this dish- Spicy Sausage & Arugula Pasta. It is my 'go-to' dinner on many nights. It also works great as a party food because it can be eaten warm or cold and the ingredients can be easily adjusted depending on how many people you will be having. In a lot of cases, I just add additional pasta. Don't worry if you make too much - it tastes GREAT in an omelet the next day for breakfast, too. Enjoy!

Spicy Sausage & Arugula Pasta

For the pasta:

1 box of fusilli pasta

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water from cooked pasta

For the sausage & arugula topping:

1 pound bulk hot sausage

4 cloves of minced garlic

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 large bunch fresh baby arugula

Cook fusilli according to box directions. While it is boiling, crumble sausage and brown it in a separate deep pan (I use a wok) on medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the browned sausage and let cook for one minute. Stir in tomatoes and let them cook down a bit (about 2 minutes). Fold in arugula, cover and turn off heat. The arugula will steam nicely with the heat that remains.

When pasta is done, drain it reserving a 1/3 cup of the water. Mix salt, pepper, parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Stir in water. Toss onto hot pasta coating it evenly.

For small parties, you can serve the pasta with the sausage mixture on top. For larger parties, I like to toss it altogether in a big bowl so people can serve themselves.

To make it Whole 30 approved, all you need to do is serve the sausage mixture atop some roasted spaghetti squash or raw zucchini noodles (zoodles) omitting the parmesan cheese. I like using raw zoodles because they keep their shape and will warm up under the mixture anyway.